In this proceeding, East Penn Railroad, LLC (ESPN or
railroad) filed a notice under 49 C.F.R. § 1152.20
seeking exemption from the requirements of 49 U.S.C. § 10903 in connection with
the abandonment of a line of railroad in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (Pa.).
The rail line proposed for abandonment is a 2.14-mile segment between Milepost 0.0,
in the Borough of Bridgeport, and Milepost 2.14, at Henderson Road, Upper
Merion Township (the Line).A map
depicting the Line in relationship to the area served is appended to this environmental
assessment (EA).If the notice becomes
effective, the railroad would be able to salvage track, ties and other railroad
appurtenances and dispose of the right-of-way.

DESCRIPTION OF THE
LINE

The Line is located in an urban area of southeastern
Pennsylvania.According to the railroad,
there is one bridge on the Line and it appears to be more than 50 years old.ESPN is not aware of any hazardous waste
sites on the Line.

Construction
of the Line, also known as the “Chester Valley Line,” started in 1852 and the
Chester Valley Railroad began operations in 1853.In 1888, the Chester Valley Railroad became
the Philadelphia & Chester Valley Railroad, and the Line was leased to and
operated by the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (Reading) until 1976.In 1976, the Line was conveyed to the
Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) under a federally approved plan for the
disposition of bankrupt railroads, including the Reading.After Conrail, a series of transactions
eventually led to the acquisition of the Line by ESPN in 2007.

No local rail traffic has moved on the Line
for at least two years, and the Line is stub-ended and not capable of handling
overhead traffic.ESPN states that if
abandonment authority is approved, it intends to remove the rails, crossties
and other track material.The bridge,
culverts and ballast on the Line would be retained by ESPN while it explores rail-banking
opportunities.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

ESPNsubmitted an environmental report that concludes
the quality of the human environment would not be affected significantly because
of the abandonment or any post-abandonment activities.ESPN served the environmental report on a
number of appropriate Federal, state, and local agencies as required by the Surface
Transportation Board’s (Board) environmental rules (49 C.F.R. § 1105.7(b)).[1]The Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis
(OEA) reviewed and investigated the record in this proceeding.

Diversion of Traffic

Because
there is no rail traffic on the Line, the proposed abandonment would not
adversely impact the development, use and transportation of energy resources or
recyclable commodities; transportation of ozone-depleting materials; or result
in the diversion of rail traffic to truck traffic that could result in
significant impacts to air quality or the local transportation network.

Salvage Activities

ESPN would
remove track materials for reuse, scrap or resale.ESPN believes that the proposed abandonment would
not be inconsistent with local or regional land use plans.The Montgomery County Planning Commission
states that the proposed abandonment is consistent with local land use plans.

The
Natural Resources Conservation Service states that it is not aware of any
potential impacts on Prime Farmland from the proposed abandonment.Therefore, the proposed abandonment does not
involve the Federal Farmland Protection Policy Act (7 U.S.C. § 4201).

The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Pennsylvania Field Office states that no federally
listed species under its jurisdiction is known or likely to occur in the
project area.

The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has not responded to the railroad’s
environmental report.Based on the
railroad’s description of the Line and salvaging activities, potential impacts
to waters of the U.S. would not be expected and a permit under Section 404 of
the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1344) would not likely be applicable.Nevertheless, OEA has provided a copy of this EA to the Corps for review and
comment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and
Pa. Department of Environmental Protection have not responded to the railroad’s
environmental report.OEA has provided a
copy of this EA to both agencies for review and comment.

The National Geodetic Survey states that no
geodetic station markers were identified that could be affected by the proposed
abandonment.

HISTORIC REVIEW

The
railroad submitted an historic report as required by the Surface Transportation
Board=s
environmental rules [49 C.F.R. § 1105.8(a)] and served the report on the Pennsylvania
Bureau of Historic Preservation (the State Historic Preservation Office or
SHPO), pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 1105.8(c).In an August 11, 2010 reply (SHPO Ref.: ER 2010-1525-091-B), the SHPO states
that proposed abandonment would have no adverse effect on any property listed
in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places
(National Register), or archaeological resources eligible for inclusion in the
National Register.

Pursuant to the Section 106 regulations of
the National Historic Preservation Act at 36 C.F.R. § 800.4(d)(1), and
following consultation with the SHPO and the public, we have determined that
the proposed abandonment would not affect historic properties listed in or
eligible for inclusion in the National Register.The documentation for this finding, as
specified at 36 C.F.R. § 800.11(d), consists of the railroad’s historic report,
all relevant correspondence, and this EA, which have been provided to the SHPO and
made available to the public through posting on the Board’s website at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

SEA conducted a search of the Native American
Consultation Database at www.cast.uark.edu/other/nps/nacd/
(last visited September 2, 2010) to identify federally recognized tribes that
may have ancestral connections to the project area.The database identified no tribes within Montgomery
County.

CONDITIONS

We
recommend no environmental conditions be imposed on any decision granting abandonment
authority.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the information provided from all sources to
date, OEA concludes that abandonment of the Line, as currently proposed, would
not significantly affect the quality of the human environment.Therefore, the environmental impact statement
process is unnecessary.

Alternatives
to the proposed abandonment would include denial (and therefore no change in
operations and no salvage activities), discontinuance of service without
abandonment, and continued operation by another operator.In any of these cases, the existing quality
of the human environment and energy consumption should not be affected.

PUBLIC USE

Following
abandonment and salvage of the rail line, the right-of-way may be suitable for
other public use.A request containing
the requisite four-part showing for imposition of a public use condition (49 C.F.R
§ 1152.28) must be filed with the Board and served on the railroad within the
time specified in the FederalRegister notice.

TRAILS USE

A
request for a notice of interim trail use (NITU) is due to the Board, with a
copy to the railroad, within the time specified in the FederalRegister
notice.Nevertheless, the Board will
accept late-filed requests as long as it retains jurisdiction to do so in a
particular case.This request must
comply with the Board’s rules for use of rights-of-way as trails (49 C.F.R. § 1152.29).

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

The
Board’s Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance responds
to questions regarding interim trail use, public use, and other reuse
alternatives.You may contact this
office directly at 202-245-0238, or mail inquiries to Surface Transportation
Board, Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance,
Washington, D.C. 20423.

COMMENTS

If you
wish to file comments regarding this environmental assessment, please send an original
and one copy to Surface Transportation Board, Case Control Unit,
Washington, D.C. 20423, to the attention of Dave Navecky, who prepared this
Environmental Assessment.Environmental
comments may also be filed electronically on the Board=s
website, www.stb.dot.gov, by clicking on the “E-FILING” link.Please refer to Docket No. AB-1020
(Sub-No. 1X) in all correspondence, including e-filings, addressed to the
Board.If you have any questions
regarding this Environmental Assessment, please contact Dave Navecky, the
environmental contact for this case, by phone at 202-245-0294, fax at 202-245-0454,
or e-mail at naveckyd@stb.dot.gov.

Date
made available to the public:September
10, 2010.

Comment
due date:September 24, 2010.

By the
Board, Victoria Rutson, Director, Office of Environmental Analysis.

Attachment

[1]The railroad’s
environmental and historic reports are available for viewing on the Board’s website
at www.stb.dot.gov by going to
“E-Library,” selecting “Filings,” and then conducting a search for AB-1020
(Sub-No. 1X).